Bereaved mother Rosamund Kissi-Debrah prepared to sue Government over air pollution

A mother whose daughter suffered from a fatal asthma attack is demanding an independent inquiry into her child’s death and is prepared to sue the Mayor of London for failing to keep air pollution in the capital at a safe level.

Rosamund Kissi-Debrah has enlisted the help of the human rights lawyer who represented the family of Stephen Lawrence and is considering taking legal action against her local authority, Lewisham Council, and the office of the Mayor of London following the death of her nine-year-old daughter, Ella, in February 2013.

From fit and healthy to intensive care

At the age of six Ella was a fit and healthy child who enjoyed swimming and playing football and dreamed of becoming a pilot, according to her mother.
But in 2010, Ella developed chronic asthma after suffering from a chest infection.

She was taken to hospital several times due to seizures brought on by a lack of oxygen following severe coughing fits, and was admitted to intensive care units on four occasions.

On 15 February 2013 Ella suffered a coughing fit and was rushed to Lewisham hospital but medics were unable to save her. An inquest found Ella had died from acute respiratory failure. It did not establish the cause of her asthma.

Stephen Lawrence lawyer preparing case

Ms Kissi-Debrah’s lawyer, Jocelyn Cockburn, who previously represented the family of the murdered teenager Stephen Lawrence, has pointed to the Human Rights Act, which requires the Government to take steps to safeguard the lives of everyone within the UK’s jurisdiction.

She argues safe air is a human right and believes an inquiry must be launched to determine whether the former Mayor, Boris Johnson, and Lewisham Council took reasonable steps to keep air pollution at a safe level near Ella’s family home in south-east London.

Unanswered questions

Ms Kissi-Debrah, whose son Robert, nine, also suffers from asthma, is demanding an “urgent” independent inquiry to establish whether there was a link between Ella’s death and the air she breathed.

“Three years after Ella’s tragic death there are still unanswered questions about why she died,” Ms Cockburn said.

Human rights failure

“The failure to investigate the possible contribution of air pollution in relation to Ella’s ill health and death, in my view, indicates an ongoing human rights failure in terms of a lack of investigation.

Such an investigation is essential to identify the risk of air pollution on our children so that lessons can be learned,” she added.

Ms Kissi-Debrah said she was “very excited” that Sadiq Khan had replaced Boris Johnson as the Mayor of London and would push for a meeting with him to discuss her daughter’s case.

However, she did not rule out the possibility of suing his office or other Government bodies if an inquiry is not launched.

“We don’t want to jump the gun, this is a process – there are certain things we have to do first,” Ms Kissi-Debrah said.

No more children should suffer

“[Ella] wouldn’t want any other child to suffer the way she did…This might help a lot of other young people in this borough,” she added.

Nearly 9,500 people die early each year in London due to long-term exposure to air pollution, according to a study commissioned by the Greater London Authority and Transport for London.

Spokespeople for the mayor, Sadiq Khan, and Lewisham Council did not respond to i’s request for comment.

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